The One-Page Letter That Could Change Your Life (or at least your month)

The paperwork at the start of a school year is utterly overwhelming, but even compared to that, there’s nothing that causes a dull ache in the pit of my stomach like that one single sheet of paper you never want your child to bring home from school:

The Letter stating that a child in class has lice.

My mind immediately starts spinning about checking my kids’ hair, how many items in the house we’d have to wash and treat (couches??? How do you even do that???), how many times we might have to re-do the process because getting rid of lice completely is such a difficult task, how many heads of hair we have in the house, how often my hair has been down in the past week, and the worst part – how ironic it would be to avoid nasty chemicals so often in all of our lives and feel doomed to dousing my kids’ heads (and our whole house) with practically caustic chemicals to kill the lice and nits successfully.

Is there no natural method to get ride of lice?

Let’s just say that this is the first product I was so happy to NOT review before sharing it on the blog!

I have a bottle, and I’ll be so glad to have it on hand in case of the dreaded letter (along with the number for customer service with real people who have tons of experience helping families through the lice problem)…but I truly hope I never need it.

ClearLice Eradicates Lice in Your Home – Naturally – and for Good!

This post is sponsored by ClearLice.

I’m impressed by the ingredients in ClearLice and the comprehensive system to totally get rid of lice, in the hair and in the home.

The process begins with enzymes that mimic the natural molting process of the louse – so the enzymes, created by fermentation of microbial organisms, actually break down the hard outer coating of both lice and nits.

This allows the other ingredients in ClearLice, from homeopathic remedies (Natrum Muriaticum) to an herb that may also help control dandruff (Wrightia Tinctoria) and a plant that is used as a natural insecticide (Acorus Calamus), to penetrate the insect and do their dirty work. Add in tea tree and neem oil to finish off the lice and peppermint oil to both destroy and prevent, plus coconut oil to keep the scalp healthy and you’ve got a powerful solution with no synthetic chemicals or harsh pesticides on your skin.

As I said, I wasn’t able to test out the effectiveness of this product (darn…), but my experience with enzymes in cleaners, like laundry treatments, has been very positive.

The full lice treatment kit includes shampoo and conditioner for at least one person’s head, the all-important nit comb, plus solutions for your laundry and home environment (aha, all you have to do is spray your couch with this stuff, not fumigate your home and wear full gas masks for a week!).

What About Home Remedies for Lice?

There are a lot of natural remedies for lice floating around the Internet, and I’ve been collecting them to share in a post for over a year now.

But reports of results had been spotty. I have a dear little family member in my life (not in my household) who has experienced the social trauma of being teased about having lice, so I know that it’s more than just a time-sucking hassle to have to address returning lice and failed attempts at eradication.

Natural home remedy possibilities include:

• coconut oil
• aloe vera
• tea tree oil (in shampoo or an olive oil carrier)
• combing daily until you see no signs for 10 days (coupled with other remedies)
• professional salons ($$$)
• mayonnaise, shower cap and heat
• eucalyptus oil
• shave the head (boys only, most likely!)
• vinegar and mineral oil
• electric lice comb
• heating and killing with a hair dryer
• most treatments require daily application or once a week, 3-4 times

I notice that a number of those ideas are in the ClearLice formula, but the enzymes to penetrate the hard outer shell are vital as well. Head lice treatments do often fail, which can be a result of not following directions, reinfestation via the environment, OR because there are now drug-resistant lice (and another article!)

The recommendation when the harsh chemicals don’t work to get rid of the lice?

Don’t reapply. Try a natural solution instead.

Really? So why not start there?

The fact that ClearLice hijacks a normal louse process mechanically rather than entering their system chemically assures me that they won’t develop resistance.

Natural Lice Prevention is Easy

Far better not to get lice in the first place, of course.

Lice don’t really like “stuff” in people’s hair – ironically considering the stigma that lice infest dirty homes, they prefer clean hair.

So the simple solution to lice prevention is to NOT wash your child’s hair daily. Once or twice a week should suffice.

You can add a layer of insurance by adding a layer of goo – a gel or a mousse, light coconut oil, a dab of pure shea butter, or hair butter from MadeOn would all work.

If you get the Dreaded Letter and want to really increase your insurance, ClearLice also has a preventative shampoo and leave-in conditioner that worried parents may want to have on hand.

Other Back to School Issues:

• Do hand sanitizers contribute to superbugs??
• Bringing sanitizer or soap to school? Read this first.
• Healthy lunch packing ideas (and 35% off on The Healthy Lunch Box through Labor Day!)
• 10 Bread-free sandwich alternatives for healthy food on the go
• Reusable sandwich bag review (newly updated last week!!)
• The best Bento lunch box options that LAST